Topical – HeadStuffhttps://www.headstuff.org
Fri, 22 Feb 2019 12:24:14 +0000en-GBhourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.9The Period Emoji is Coming – and why that mattershttps://www.headstuff.org/topical/opinion/period-emoji/
https://www.headstuff.org/topical/opinion/period-emoji/#respondWed, 20 Feb 2019 09:04:03 +0000https://www.headstuff.org/?p=73984Dear Menstruators, You may have noticed a couple of weeks back a certain trend on Twitter going under the #PeriodEmoji hashtag. The hashtag announced the launch of the brand new and much anticipated Period Emoji for those times when we feel the urge to share a menstrual moment on Twitter, Whatsapp or Instagram. I don’t […]

You may have noticed a couple of weeks back a certain trend on Twitter going under the #PeriodEmoji hashtag. The hashtag announced the launch of the brand new and much anticipated Period Emoji for those times when we feel the urge to share a menstrual moment on Twitter, Whatsapp or Instagram.

I don’t know about you, but I for one almost always end up live Tweeting my period. It’s never planned and it’s almost certainly more information than anyone else in cyberspace, or IRL for that matter, wants to know about the intimate workings of my uterus. Even so, it seems to have become part of my monthly ritual along with eating chocolate and crying for no apparent reason. It’s a well known fact that I am obsessed with all things period related, but also my period symptoms dominate my life to such a degree for three to five days of the month, every month, that in this world of TMI on Twitter it seems absurd not to be sharing the most intimate details of my cycle with the rest of cyberspace.

And yet each time I go to tweet about it I find myself scrolling through all those random emoji’s trying to find that one that will capture how my uterus feels when it is trapped in a vice grip, always to come up wanting. Strawberries are too sweet, and a red X doesn’t quite have the drama I am after, you know. There are plenty of graphic gifs that can some up my ambivalent feelings to the crimson wave: Carrie having a bucket of pigs blood spilled over her, that elevator in the Shining, Kathy Bates talking a sledge hammer to James Caan’s ankles, or any Stephen King movie really. But sometimes you just need a simple emoji, you know?

Rumours of this mythical period emoji had reached me months ago, and every time I updated my Whatsapp I would scroll through waiting to see the addition of a happy uterus, a pink sanitary towel, or a pair of blood-stained undies only to find the usual yellow faces and smiling turds.

Now the new period emoji, a simple drop of blood, doesn’t get quite so graphic as some people (i.e. me) were hoping, but I can already see the endless possibilities; one drop for a light flow day, a rainy shower for other days.

But seriously, why has the announcement of a period emoji got so many people like me excited?

Menstrual Stigma

Menstrual education, publicity for menstrual hygiene products and society in general often reinforce negative stereotypes around menstruation as something which is dirty, gross, shameful or which must be kept secret. This can be as simple as separating girls and boys for the school talk about periods, sending the message that menstruation is something only girls need to worry about. Or in advertisements where nary a drop of menstrual blood is ever seen, implying that every month a blue liquid will be flowing from between our legs. Or the persistence of myths that claim menstruating people should not cook, clean or milk animals because they will ‘contaminate’ everything they touch. Or censorship on social media.

Menstrual shame is a global problem from women in the UK reporting that they still feel embarrassed about their periods to the isolation of young girls during menstruation. Plan International found nearly half (48%) of girls aged 14-21 in the UK are embarrassed by their periods. One in seven (14%) girls admitted that they did not know what was happening when they started their period and more than a quarter (26 per cent) reporting that they did not know what to do when they started their period.

Menstrual stigma can manifest itself in the most everyday experiences: the public embarrassment of finding a blood stain on your clothes, your friends/colleagues/partners who get uncomfortable if you mention the ‘P’ word in friendly conversation, or the taboo around sex during menstruation. This kind of stigma prevents people from talking openly about their bodies natural processes, seeking out correct information and in the worst cases creates a sense of shame and fear around everything related to menstruation.

Period Positivity

The good news is that there is a growing movement of feminist activists working to end period stigma and achieve access to safe and ecological menstrual products for all menstruators. The Pro-Period movement is diverse but it could be said that its principal focus is on menstrual health education, body literacy and body positivity, inclusivity and promoting healthy, affordable and alternative products to the commercial tampons and pads offered by the ‘femcare’ industry.

Period positivity means, according to menstrual activist Chella Quint that “you are willing to confidently ask and/or frankly answer questions about periods, understand the importance for menstruators to chart their cycle and treat it as a vital sign, avoid passing on shame to others, and if you joke about it, that you make sure menstruators aren’t the butt of the joke.”

So fellow menstruators, watch this space for more bloody awesome period positivty, and bloody dreadful puns, over the next weeks and months.

]]>https://www.headstuff.org/topical/opinion/period-emoji/feed/0Why Doesn’t America Prioritize Elder Care?https://www.headstuff.org/topical/topical-features/america-elder-care/
https://www.headstuff.org/topical/topical-features/america-elder-care/#respondTue, 19 Feb 2019 07:41:33 +0000https://www.headstuff.org/?p=73931No one ever said growing old was a job for the feint of heart, but in America, many seniors face tougher hardships than dealing with increasing aches and pains. Ever-rising numbers of elderly Americans experience financial hardships that prevent them from fully enjoying their golden years. Additionally, many suffer health woes, and prescription drug costs […]

]]>No one ever said growing old was a job for the feint of heart, but in America, many seniors face tougher hardships than dealing with increasing aches and pains. Ever-rising numbers of elderly Americans experience financial hardships that prevent them from fully enjoying their golden years. Additionally, many suffer health woes, and prescription drug costs are unlikely to drop anytime soon.

Pressures on this vulnerable population grow harder to bear every day. Rising medication prices coupled with shrinking Social Security benefits force many American seniors into poverty. Lack of quality health care options for seniors unable to live independently pose further problems for many of America’s elderly.

Many Can Never Fully Retire

As the baby boomer generation nears retirement age, many find they lack the financial resources they once counted on. Due to the series of recessions Americans experienced in recent years, many who lost jobs due to mass layoffs had to drain their IRA accounts to buy basic necessities while unemployed.

Age discrimination, while prohibited by law, nevertheless continues to occur, resulted in many boomers experiencing lengthier unemployment periods. Additionally, due to nearly 40 years of wage stagnation, those who did find work after losing a job found that the starting salary left them paid at an entry-level wage instead of one more appropriate for their education and experience. This made rebuilding raided retirement accounts difficult.

I recently spoke with one of my older friends who lost his well-paying tech job during the Great Recession. He described at length how the new job he found at age 55 pays the same wage he earned at age 22. Like many, he relied on early withdrawals from his 401k — and not only did he pay hefty tax penalties for doing so, his retirement funds may never return to their previous levels even if he worked well into his 70s.

For retirees on Social Security, many find that despite cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) in current years, they nevertheless fail to keep up with rising inflation. COLA adjustments have only kept up with half of the rising costs people pay for basic necessities. While the COLA adjustment for 2019 seems beneficial on the surface, Medicare costs have also risen so dramatically, many seniors will find the added monthly money gets gobbled up by medical expenses.

Many able-bodied seniors now find themselves working well into their golden years simply to survive financially. Some choose to combine retirement travel dreams by downsizing into RVs and touring the country all the while working odd jobs along the way. Others push back the date at which they accept the gold watch to rebuild savings as long as they retain the ability to handle the nine-to-five grind.

Challenges to Staying in Their Homes

For many elderly people, the thought of leaving the home they grew up in and perhaps inherited from their parents causes anxiety and suffering. In decades past, seniors unable to manage all the tasks required for daily living relied on family members to help with lawn mowing and trips to the market. But because many workers today hold multiple jobs, they lack the time to care for mom and dad the way they’d like to.

Home health care services help seniors with the economic means keep the same address. However, rising expenses put this possibility out of financial reach for many. Even when they can afford home care, the low wages earned by those working as aides has decreased the number of workers entering the field, resulting in shortages. Even something as simple as lacking moving fees can prevent seniors from getting the care they need.

Issues Accessing Medical Care

Prescription drugs prices have skyrocketed in recent years, making maintaining their health a struggle for elderly Americans. Manufacturers continually seek to grow profits by pricing medicines out of reach for all but the wealthy, and since the U.S. fails to negotiate drug prices the way other developed nations do, seniors end up bearing the brunt of the costs.

Lacking the means to afford prescription medications leads many older Americans to develop far more serious diseases. Health professionals have long known that practicing preventative measures such as participating in senior-oriented exercise classes and taking medications as prescribed improve patient outcomes. However, while some Medicare supplements cover the cost of these types of programs and memberships, some cannot afford the premiums, and others live too far from the nearest facility accepting such insurance.

The Sorry State of Nursing Homes

I’ll never forget the sense of despair I felt the last time I traveled to celebrate my great grandma’s birthday. My great grandma, like many her age, lived in a senior facility. Her tiny bedroom contained four occupied beds, and one roommate couldn’t hear the television without blaring it at near rock-concert levels. Though it was clear the nurses tried to create a welcoming, homey feel as best they could with scant supplies, the place still had the depressing, institutional feel of a psychiatric ward.

Losing Basic Human Rights

Even seniors physically healthy enough to remain at home with occasional nursing care must fear asking for aid out of fear of losing their basic right to make their own health care decisions. Some states grant nurses guardianship status, allowing them to override patient wishes and ship seniors off to homes without their consent.

A recent case study in the New Yorker followed one such case of elderly eviction. States with guardianship laws which allow health care providers to supersede the desires of their senior patients put older Americans at risk of scams from greedy facilities wishing to pad their pockets by liquidating the assets of those they force into homes, presumably to pay for the unwanted care.

We should never allow strangers to take away someone’s right to decide for themselves how to spend their golden years, perhaps unless infirmities like Alzheimer’s render them incapable of making their own choices. Even then, the law should safeguard seniors by allowing family members, not anonymous health care aides, to be involved in making decisions on the best course of care.

We Need to Do Better

Making it to retirement age used to be considered an accomplishment in itself, and historically, society has venerated the wisdom of the elderly and held them in high esteem. We need to stop providing minimal care for maximum profits, and we need to cease viewing older Americans as disposable. It’s dehumanizing, and there is simply no room for it in a civilized society.

]]>https://www.headstuff.org/topical/topical-features/america-elder-care/feed/0How the Job Interview Has Changed for Younger Generationshttps://www.headstuff.org/topical/job-interview-younger-generation/
https://www.headstuff.org/topical/job-interview-younger-generation/#respondWed, 13 Feb 2019 06:53:17 +0000https://www.headstuff.org/?p=73653The world has changed quite a bit since the Baby Boomers and Generation X’ers were the most prominent generations in the workforce. We are now smack dab in the middle of the Millennials’ and Generation Z’s times in the spotlight. Technology has helped to shape new hiring processes, but there are also other ways recruitment […]

]]>The world has changed quite a bit since the Baby Boomers and Generation X’ers were the most prominent generations in the workforce. We are now smack dab in the middle of the Millennials’ and Generation Z’s times in the spotlight. Technology has helped to shape new hiring processes, but there are also other ways recruitment for younger generations has changed dramatically.

Millennials and Generation Z

The younger generations differ from the old in many remarkable ways. First, they grew up in a period of technological explosion and social connection. They have never lived in a world without cell phones and social media. It is unthinkable for a young person to be unplugged, and they are under tremendous pressure, constantly bombarded with texts, emails, and social interaction.

The flip side is, millennials and Generation Z individuals are also the most isolated and lonely. Many millennials suffer from emotional issues and anxiety. Too much change has taken place too quickly, and due to societal trends, these young people feel judged continuously and compare themselves to reality TV actors or influencers on Instagram. Because millennials are always plugged in and turned on, they don’t know what information is accurate or correct. It’s hard for them to trust.

Brought up in a world of instant gratification and very little hardship, younger generations have expectations for the world that are not always realistic. Because they live in a “new is better” world, it’s hard for them to appreciate things. The superficial offerings of social media and TV have done them a disservice which they are now struggling to live up to.

Accommodating the value shift of younger generations employers have changed how they find, recruit, and interview potential candidates.

The New Interview Process

Job interview processes have changed radically. For starters, they are much quicker. In many cases the applicant will never set foot in the door. Using Skype, Google Hangout, or Zoom, hiring managers can recruit from all over the world and interview easily without any travel involved.

Younger applicants should be prepared for testing. Even for entry-level jobs, candidates will be expected to take writing, software, or job-specific assessments before even getting an interview. Since lying on a resume is common, they want to be sure you can do the job before they take the time to speak with you.

For most jobs you will also be expected to have thoroughly researched the company that is interviewing you. They will have done the same and, after checking social media and other online resources, know all about you. They will ask you detailed questions to verify that you researched them and what they are all about.

Competition in the job market these days is fierce. You will need to come to the table with a solid strategy proving how you can contribute and make a difference over the other applicants. Don’t shy away from having your own portfolio website to showcase your talents. Today it is all about branding. Brand yourself for potential employers, and it might be the edge up you need to get the job.

Common Interview Questions

Historically job applicants would show up in person, hand a recruiter their resume, and answer some typical questions like “What can you tell me about yourself?” These days employers want to dig deeper and find out more about the real you before they invest their money in hiring you. In order to meet potential employers’ expectations, applicants need to know how to answer job interview questions.

One staple question that remains is, “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” This question is a good one because it forces the applicant to honestly evaluate what they believe to be their best and worst traits. Employers sometimes pose scenario questions to test problem-solving skills such as, “Tell me about a situation where you encountered an angry client — how did you handle it?” The answer to this question gives the recruiter a lot of insight.

Generic questions are less common these days, as employers want to maximise their efforts to find a perfect match for their open position.

Emotional Intelligence Is the New Yardstick

The majority of companies these days are having potential candidates take personality assessments. The Myers-Briggs test is a popular one because it accurately identifies personality traits to help match up someone’s natural style with the correct position where they can excel. That particular test uses six groupings to determine personality mapping; they are: “Extraversion vs. Introversion,” “Intuition vs. Sensing,” “Thinking vs. Feeling,” and “Judging vs. Perceiving.”

Most jobs include stress. It’s all about how you handle it. Individuals with high EI skills can generally manage their own stress and others around them by staying calm, thinking clearly and making sound decisions. Those same people tend to lead by example, can be emphatic to co-workers, and are good at resolving conflicts. It is easy to see why those skills would benefit just about any position but especially management jobs.

The Employer Side of Hiring Young People

Technology has helped streamline the recruitment process for employers. Instead of groups of applicants coming in for an in-person interview, most things can be handled by email, texting, and online video. It’s quicker and easier than ever to recruit, select, and hire younger applicants.

What is relevant to many younger applicants is corporate culture. It’s not just enough for a company to offer a good position with an attractive salary and benefits. They also must “sell” their culture, and it should appeal to the values of millennials.

When crafting job applications, millennials expect details. Generic job descriptions won’t get the response they once would have. Younger people are aiming for specialised jobs in niche markets. Everything is done digitally too, so when posting job offerings, you have to go where the crowd is — and nowadays that is social media.

Both younger managers working in corporate America and the available applicants have combined to shape this new way of recruitment, job interviewing, and hiring. How will Generation Z and emergent technologies continue to shape job recruitment processes? Time will tell, but it’s essential to follow these developments in order to compete in the job market.

]]>https://www.headstuff.org/topical/job-interview-younger-generation/feed/0Out Here | 2 | Fistfuls Of Heritagehttps://www.headstuff.org/topical/topical-features/galway-congo/
https://www.headstuff.org/topical/topical-features/galway-congo/#respondTue, 12 Feb 2019 07:42:20 +0000https://www.headstuff.org/?p=73621This story begins in the Congo, Wally Nkikita and Philippe Toko’s homeland. It winds its way from there to Galway, Ireland. Tracing a long path from one life to the next. All the way to this evening in Áras Na nGael on Dominick Street. Where faded photos of De Valera and Ireland’s constitution hang alongside […]

]]>This story begins in the Congo, Wally Nkikita and Philippe Toko’s homeland. It winds its way from there to Galway, Ireland. Tracing a long path from one life to the next. All the way to this evening in Áras Na nGael on Dominick Street. Where faded photos of De Valera and Ireland’s constitution hang alongside banners emblazoned with “Galway African Diaspora”, the name of Nkikita and Toko’s organisation.

The pair have dedicated themselves to showcasing “Afro-Caribbean culture and diversity in the City of Tribes.” A broad bracket that includes people from Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, and the Congo. And tonight, one of the Diaspora’s Afro-Music nights, is a chance for the city to celebrate these cultures and people who have come a long way to find a home. And who each brought a fistful of heritage to throw into Galway’s melting pot.

A few hours earlier, around the corner in a packed coffee shop, accents and laughter filled the room and the smell of cigarette smoke drifted in from out back. Nkikita and Toko told me about being Africans in Ireland, about bringing their fistfuls of the Congo to Galway – the music and art and language they are proud to call their own – that they have set about weaving into Galway City’s tapestry. That’s what brought Toko to Galway.

He came west in 2001, after three years in Ireland. And set up a shop selling the crafts of Africa. While Nkikita arrived in 2010. He founded the Diaspora in the last two or three years. Not just as a way for Galway’s African community to keep in touch with their homelands, but as a way to enrich the city. To add extra voices to its choir.

“Galway,” Nkikita said, “is a loving place.” The city has welcomed the many peoples who have moved here. And through that movement it has forged its own culture. Where the different ways blend and mix on the cobbled streets. One busker’s country and western song might fade into an Irish air. Before the sound of an African drumming class takes the airwaves around the next corner. These sounds do not fight each other. Instead, they come together like a collage of peoples. Just as the different accents did in that coffee shop. Where Toko was explaining just how varied Africa is.

He said that there are 54 countries in Africa, that within each of them there are different tribes. And that many of them are trying to divide the land further. To jigsaw the continent apart. But there are no factions in Galway’s Diaspora. As Nkikita said, “It’s like a family: you can have 5, 6, kids who will be different. But they have the link – something that links us to Africa.”

That something cannot be pinned down or generalised. To be from somewhere is a complex matter. It is not as simple as learning the language or national anthem. Nor is it as easy as conforming to a stereotype. Nationality is about belonging. In both the individual – feeling at home in your self and country – and communal sense. Where the people nurture the person’s sense of self. Toko told me there is no single thread that unites all the people in Galway’s African Diaspora. Rather, what brings them together is an individual pride in their selves and their heritage. And somewhere between the two lies nationality.

There is a distinction between nationality and patriotism. One is belonging, and the other is devotion to an idea. The Diaspora’s mission is to foster that belonging. No one has to conform to a fixed notion of what it means to be African. Instead, they are free to experience that culture on their own terms. Whether they fit its demographic or not.

Nkikita has found that Galway’s people took an interest in the Diaspora’s goals. Through teaching them African drumming and dancing, and hosting African art exhibitions in the city, he has forged a bond between his own culture and his new home. Once the two ways would not, and could not, have come together. But as the world turns into the 21st century, its borders are being erased. More people leave their homelands every day. And their footsteps scuff the imaginary lines that cross our planet, wearing them away. Until even the boundaries between individuals will vanish. Just as each of those buskers’ songs merge in the air.

Hours ago, Nkikita and Toko left that coffee shop. Now, in Aras na nGael, only the two of them and the sound engineers are here. Setting up the PA for the night ahead. Every few minutes a blast of Congolese soukous music fills the stone-walled venue. Rattling the bottles behind the bar. There’s an accordion tucked into a nook, and pamphlets written in Irish stacked on tables. The sound engineer shouts instructions over the music in a thick English accent. And even over the thump of the drums you can hear the smile in his voice.

]]>https://www.headstuff.org/topical/topical-features/galway-congo/feed/0Why We’re Still Shouting About Periodshttps://www.headstuff.org/topical/topical-features/periods-menstruation/
https://www.headstuff.org/topical/topical-features/periods-menstruation/#respondFri, 08 Feb 2019 07:53:02 +0000https://www.headstuff.org/?p=71793Recently I decided to write a blog post about periods, in which I shared my personal experience with period shame and sanitary products, especially the menstrual cup. Twelve year old me would be super embarrassed to know that my first period story is now public. I still am sometimes. We all remember Chandler’s face when […]

]]>Recently I decided to write a blog post about periods, in which I shared my personal experience with period shame and sanitary products, especially the menstrual cup. Twelve year old me would be super embarrassed to know that my first period story is now public. I still am sometimes.

We all remember Chandler’s face when he ended up at the play ‘Why Don’t You Like Me?’ and the star of the one woman show stood up tall and exclaimed ‘Chapter One, My First Period.’ His expression wasn’t very encouraging.

But period shame is much bigger than my and Chandler’s unease. Just because it’s awkward and embarrassing doesn’t mean we can gloss over the matter. And the only way to shed this stigma is by talking about it. Children need to know what is happening to them when they get their first period. No child should ever find blood in their underwear and think that they’re dying because no one spoke to them about menstruation.

Writing about periods has opened up a lot of conversations for me online and off, male and female. One of the most common stories I heard from people is that they hid their first periods, even from their mothers. In one case, someone made do with tissue for up to a year. One friend told me that she hid it because she was so terrified of entering womanhood. Most couldn’t say why they did this.

In an online poll, I asked women if they had ever spoken with their fathers about periods. Of the 37 respondents, 81% said they had not.

It is important to note that these are women in their 20s today. We’re not talking about 1960’s Ireland. Still this isn’t any wonder. Reactions like Chandler’s were the only representations we had in popular culture while growing up. We never saw Rachel ask Monica for a tampon (Condoms? Sure. Sanitary products? Gross) We never saw Sabrina the Teenage Witch come home to her aunts with an embarrassing story about the leak she had at school.

Think of the revenge spells she could have cast on anyone who shamed her. “Well, how do you like blood leaking beyond your control Libby!?”

Normalising the normal

Assuming Voldemort isn’t reading this, it’s safe to say that we all want to be kind and loving beings. Periods can be painful both physically and mentally. They can be exhausting. They can be expensive and they can be a downright nuisance.

We should be able to ask our friends and family, male or female, to pick us up some pads or tampons if we’re in need. We should be able to vocalise our suffering and receive sympathy for it. Normalising this as a topic of conversation is a vital, because it is perfectly normal.

In fact, today some medical practitioners view menstruation as the sixth vital sign. When something is up with our periods, it can signal other health problems. Whether they are lighter or heavier than usual, more sporadic or more frequent, they tell us so much about a menstruator’s overall health. Period blood is the only blood not born from violence or illness. Yet in the media we see blood spawned from violence constantly, while menstrual blood is rare. That has a damaging effect suggesting that periods are something to be hidden or ashamed of.

Since writing my last post I have noticed some changes in myself. For example, I don’t wait for men to leave the room before I bring up something period-related. I’m sure many of you have been doing this for years, but this is a big deal for me. While my instinct is still to stay quiet, I realise now how ridiculous that is; considering somewhere online there is a description of me squatting in a bathroom, pulling a bloody menstrual cup out of my vagina.

Period Poverty

Open conversations bring knowledge and power. Menstruators deserve to know all of their options when it comes to sanitary products, dealing with pain or even stopping their periods. Personally I would recommend the menstrual cup. As my blogging might demonstrate, I am more than happy to go into bloody detail on the ins and outs of the menstrual cup.

It is important to remember that there are menstruators in Ireland right now, including children, that do not have access to sanitary products, whether due to homelessness or poverty. If we can’t speak about menstruation openly then how can we address this problem? Homeless Period Ireland accept donations of sanitary products for those in need. If you can drop in some pads or tampons, I would recommend checking below for your closest drop-off point.

Charlotte Amrouche and the MÍOSTA Project

Breaking down this stigma requires a great deal of learning and understanding. None of this is to suggest it is a tedious task. I am grateful for all of the open conversations that I have since had. It has given me the pleasure of getting to meet people such as Charlotte Amrouche.

Charlotte is the founder of the MÍOSTA Project, which brings period education workshops to Universities around Ireland. A friend and I attended one at UCD a few weeks ago. Although they’re at universities anyone can go and they’re free. My friend and I are not students at UCD and we were waiting for the ‘She doesn’t even go here!’ but it never happened.

There was about twelve of us at the workshop. Almost straight away Charlotte gave us paper and colouring pencils. She then asked us to write or draw our period stories. This was for our own personal use, and we were free to share as little or as much of our story as we liked. As it turned out, everyone was very eager to tell their story. There were many parallels in our experiences from shame and frustration to humour and strength. And there was the feeling that we could have gone on for hours.

Fascinated, I wanted to learn more from Charlotte, and so, I caught up with her to find out more.

Charlotte Amrouche (Right), Photo Source: Katie Freeney

Can you tell us a bit about MÍOSTA and why you started it?

I grew up in West Cork and during my education I never received any sexual health education or any education about periods. I went to secondary school in the 00’s.

A couple of years ago I was doing an internship at a women’s organisation when a colleague asked me what I used for my period, I responded pads and tampons, and she went on to tell me about the Moon Cup. This started an exciting journey for me into reusable menstrual products and periods in general. I started researching menstrual activism in my BA and continued to explore the topic during my MA in Gender Studies in the Netherlands. While doing my MA I held a small workshop on reusable menstrual products and I fell in love with the conversations that came out of a table full of reusable products. I went on to hold a larger event for Menstrual Hygiene Day 2017 in Utrecht and it was amazing.

I came back to Ireland in 2017 to start my PhD and knew that I wanted to carry on having these conversations about periods. I launched MÍOSTA to continue these conversations. The project aims to bring interactive and engaging menstrual education workshops to people around the country. The workshops focus on reusable and alternative menstrual products, smashing menstrual shame and stigma, exploring contemporary issues to do with menstruation and creating activist interventions. In this first year I am bringing the workshops to universities around the country. However, we need menstrual education earlier than in our late teens and early 20’s. I hope to bring MÍOSTA to schools and communities in the future. And importantly MÍOSTA aims to create an inclusive space for menstruators of all genders, or people who don’t menstruate, to attend.

When were you able to start talking openly about periods?

It was that first conversation with my colleague who asked me what I used which started me talking openly about my period. I was 25 then. Writing about periods in my university assignments gave me the courage to really start talking about them, and it was during my MA when I began to introduce myself as ‘Charlotte who’s obsessed with periods.’

Do you still have ‘period shame’?

Yes! I still worry about getting my period out of nowhere and leaking in public. I go to the bathroom a lot more in the days before my period to check it hasn’t started…

Last month I was in Cork holding a workshop and getting the taxi to the bus station. I had a moment where I dreaded the taxi man asking what I was doing for the day in Cork, because I just didn’t want to explain that I was holding a workshop about periods. I think choosing when and if we want to have these conversations is an important part of the process of working through period shame.

Period shame is so ingrained and we are completely surrounded by it in our societies. To overcome period shame for ourselves we need to be able to talk about periods when we need/want to and to feel comfortable doing so. Menstrual activists who free bleed to protest the tampon tax are forever inspiring, but by no means does everyone who has a period need to do that to overcome menstrual shame.

Why is it so important to lift this stigma?

We need to lift the stigma around periods for so many reasons. It has such a wide impact on women and menstruators’ health, wellbeing and quality of life. Stigma and shame around menstruation can mean that menstruators don’t access medical care when they need it. It can mean that menstrual pain is hidden in work spaces. It means that only now are alternative products to tampons (which were invented by men) becoming mainstream. It means that when young menstruators can’t afford products they use socks or toilet paper instead of menstrual products and often stay home from school for fear of leaking.

Why do you think there is such stigma around periods?

I think it has to do with the stigma about women’s bodies. It seems to me that so many parts of women’s embodied experiences in the world are stigmatised and silenced, from periods to menopause, to miscarriage and post-childbirth. I see overcoming menstrual shame and silence as a great beginning to overcoming many of the stigma’s that continue to surround women’s bodies. If women and menstruators can remove some of the shame and stigma around their menstruating bodies they are equipped to become advocates for their menstruating, reproductive and one day menopausal bodies.

What can men do to help end this stigma?

Men can do a lot on many different levels. A recent study by Plan International Ireland found 30% of young girls were asked not to speak to their male friends, brothers and fathers about their periods. Men need to be open to talking about periods in their relationships with menstruators, either as fathers, brothers, partners, friends, co-workers or bosses. For menstrual stigma to end everyone needs to be involved in creating this change.

How do you think period education needs to change?

We need period education much earlier. Menstruators should learn about periods before they get their period.

We also need period education which includes boys and men. One of the things I often hear when holding conversations about periods is that women and menstruators would have liked boys to be present when they had period education.

Period education must include alternatives to pads and tampons, such as menstrual cups, reusable pads and period underwear. Too often pads and tampons are presented as the only options. 90% of most pads are made of plastic and just under half of tampons and pads have been found to have toxins such as glyphosate, rayon and bleaching agents. And the vagina is one of the most absorbent parts of the body. There is not one menstrual product that is right for everyone and people need to know about every option that is available so they can make informed decisions for their bodies and menstrual cycles. I don’t think we need to convert all menstruators to menstrual cups, but instead to make sure that those who don’t choose menstrual cups know all the options which are available and have access to products that are safe for their bodies.

While sex education in schools often covers the biological aspects of periods, period education also needs to teach people about how they can track their menstrual cycle and learn from it. Tracking and understanding your cycle can bring so many positive benefits, from simply understanding your own health, increasing awareness around fertility and being able to track hormonal, emotional and bodily symptoms that change with the cycle.

And finally, doing these workshops has shown me that we need more spaces where women and menstruators’ questions and concerns can be discussed and knowledge can be shared. Period education needs to be more than just learning from a facilitator or teacher, but also about learning from each other.

What have you learned from doing the workshops yourself?

Every time I hold a workshop I learn something different. I learn about the obstacles that women and menstruators face when having their period. Whether these are health concerns, stigmas within their families and communities, or queries about menstrual products. As I do these workshops I am learning that the MÍOSTA project is one jigsaw puzzle piece in the change we have to create in Ireland.

These workshops create space for conversation, to break the silence around periods, and to empower women and menstruators to take control of their period. These are important building blocks to creating societies which menstruators can be comfortable in, but we also need free/affordable products, policies which insure menstruators aren’t discriminated against in the workplace, guidelines for parents and teachers to unpack menstrual shame, and a healthcare system that supports menstruators in all their needs.

As I have not worked with homeless women or women in direct provision I wouldn’t want to make recommendations for them. But the fact that Homeless Period Ireland is always looking for donations shows just how needed free menstrual products are in these communities. In addition to all the tremendous difficulties these women have in accessing and affording menstrual products I can imagine they experience the same issues women in my workshops experience.

However, I wouldn’t want this conversation about periods to distract from the fact that homeless women need homes and women in direct provision need to not be stuck in the inhumane direct provision system. We pretty much all need better period education. But we also need to create an Irish society where people are not living in such terrible conditions.

Can you tell us a bit about your favourite menstrual products?

Of course. I use an organicup and period pants. I love the organicup cause it is quite a soft silicone and suits me really well. This is my second cup I have used. The first was harder and not as comfortable. Using menstrual cups can sometimes mean trying a few out. And I love to use period pants at night or on lighter days (also on lazier days).

For anyone that wants to learn more about periods, where should they look?

Is the HSE or are GPs adequate in helping women with their menstrual health?

This is a really important issue. I am sure there are many GPs around the country who are incredibly helpful when it comes to their patients’ menstrual health. However, I have heard too many stories of severe menstrual pain being dismissed as ‘normal’ or of the pill being offered as the only solution to menstrual irregularities. I have had to explain to GPs what a menstrual cup is. From my own experience and the stories I have heard, women do need more support from the health service.

But I also think that GPs and the health service need more resources and support in order to provide health care which helps and supports menstruators. The medical profession is not immune from the power of menstrual shame and stigma. How menstruators are treated in the health service reflects this. We need in-depth research conducted on how women experience menstrual healthcare in Ireland and what gaps there are in supports, education and resources.

First and Last

One of the resources shared by Charlotte on the MÍOSTA website is ‘The Vagina Dispatches’. These are four fifteen minute episodes that I would strongly recommend watching.

The second episode focuses on periods and is worth watching, especially for the views of a woman in her eighties. At the beginning, she tells the camera, “Women are superior because we menstruate. Suck on that boys,” but on a more serious note, she goes on to describe losing her period.

“At first it was wonderful. ‘Ah what a relief!’ And then later on it’s sort of like ‘Oh…’ It becomes such a pattern, a ritual that there were moments that I did miss it.”

I’m sure there are people screaming, ‘No way, I will never miss it! Take it away!’ But I found her remark rather poignant. This thought had never crossed my mind before, that with all its ups and downs, when the menopause comes, we can actually miss having our periods: Something that has been so much a part of us for forty odd years.

With that in mind, I’m going to end this by looking back at some ‘First Period Stories’ that were sent to me, and which appear here with the senders’ permission:

“I used to just throw my underwear in the bin”

“I didn’t tell my Mam that I got my period, I used to just throw my underwear in the bin. She found them and had to sit me down and show me how to use pads. I still refused to wear them for about 2 months because I was TERRIFIED of entering womanhood. It took me about a year to accept periods into my life. I used to go so red if someone brought them up and I was so shocked when people were getting excited about their first periods.”

“I wanted to get it so badly”

“When I was 10 or 11 I lied about getting my period because I wanted to get it so badly. I think so I could ask the HEAPS of sex questions I had more freely. My mum was so good and got me little pads to use. One day I fell and scraped my knee at school and used one of the little pads to tend my wound. I stuck the bloody pad in my school bag and later showed it to my mum to prove I ‘really did’ get my period. I didn’t end up getting it till I was about 14 #karma.

“I used to love making people (mainly teenage boys) uncomfortable by talking and shouting about my period at the bus stop after school at secondary. “Yeeeeah, periods periods la la la! Sometimes its brown! Suck on that!”

“I thought I had escaped Mother Nature”

“So when I first got my period it was just spotting, I went down and was super embarrassed telling my mam that my vagina was bleeding and she told me it was a period. When she told me I would get this every month till my late 40s, I started crying. It then went away for a year and I thought I had escaped Mother Nature.

“It returned in first year. I had completely forgotten what it was. I assumed my vagina was somehow haemorrhaging and went home from school early, crying and confused. Since then the confusion has ended, however the wild emotional periods live on.”

“Momma needs her nappies too”

“This is so gross but when I was in secondary school I would go as long as I could without changing my pad because I was so embarrassed that I would make noise in the toilet and now I look back and I’m like, ‘What?’ I was in a girl’s bathroom. Everyone gets their periods.

“And even in class if I needed to go to the toilet to change I would shove the pad up my sleeve. It’s a hard life being a girl in secondary school. Like it’s so stupid when I look back, why didn’t we just whip them out and walk around with them.

“And now I walk around with Ivy’s nappies on show in the bottom of the pram and my pads on show. Momma needs her nappies too. So it’s Momma’s nappies and baby’s nappies. And everyone can see them but that’s fine because I’m a young menstruating woman.”

]]>https://www.headstuff.org/topical/topical-features/periods-menstruation/feed/0How smartphones are revolutionising healthcarehttps://www.headstuff.org/topical/smartphone-healthcare/
https://www.headstuff.org/topical/smartphone-healthcare/#respondThu, 07 Feb 2019 07:48:36 +0000https://www.headstuff.org/?p=73482When you think of healthcare, you might have images of sick people sitting next to one another in a physician’s office waiting room for hours trying not to cough or sneeze on each other. Or, you may have images of hospital beds and IV poles in rooms echoing with beeps and alarms. While these scenes […]

]]>When you think of healthcare, you might have images of sick people sitting next to one another in a physician’s office waiting room for hours trying not to cough or sneeze on each other. Or, you may have images of hospital beds and IV poles in rooms echoing with beeps and alarms. While these scenes still happen in healthcare and certainly have their place in the continuum of care, the idea of “sick care” is changing.

As we approach the 20th year of the 21st century, hospitals, practitioners, and other care providers have started to question what healthcare consumers really want. With the evolution of healthcare delivery changing from in-patient to out-patient, people living longer, and the cost of healthcare continuing to sky-rocket, individuals are looking for ways to increase health and minimize sickness.

So what do healthcare consumers want? They want something different. Consumers are choosing convenience over relationships, lower healthcare costs, and ease of access to services. This has caused the healthcare industry to turn to mobile apps and other new frontiers in healthcare in large numbers.

What is mHealth?

There is no standard definition of mHealth or mobile health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mHealth is a medical and public health practice supported by mobile phones, patient monitoring devices, and other wireless tools. With more than 5 billion mobile phone subscriptions in the world, it only makes sense to use this technology to increase patient engagement with healthcare services.

Understanding Healthcare Apps

The power of healthcare apps is endless. Patients use them for face-to-face appointments with providers, to schedule check-ups and review test results, and to send critical information to members of their care team to receive instructions after hours.

Apps are also being used to take control of chronic conditions, increase compliance with diet changes, and keep people on track with weight loss goals. There is even diversity in apps that aim to improve access to care for specific patient populations. If you have a specific health need or are looking to connect with others to gain motivation and support, you can probably find an app to help you. The bottom line is that healthcare apps are here to stay. So, let’s review a few of the best and most diverse ones out there.

AliveCor

Abnormal heart rhythms can be scary. With the AliveCor app, an FDA-cleared device, you can find out if your heart rhythm is normal or if atrial fibrillation is detected in just 30 seconds. This app uses a sensor that you place your fingers on which detects your heart rhythm. It can also track your blood pressure readings and weight.

If you’re concerned about an abnormal reading, you can email the recording to yourself or your provider. AliveCor is portable, making it easy to slip in your pocket or wear a special band on your wrist that works with an Apple Watch.

These attitudes are the exact reason three medical students developed Spectrum Scores, an app that helps LGBTQ+ patients find providers that are competent in culturally sensitive care. Each provider on the app is given a SprectrumScore in four metrics: welcoming environment, LGBTQ+ knowledge, inclusive processes, and overall satisfaction to help you find the provider that best fits your needs.

BlueStar

The WellDoc team created BlueStar, an innovative solution for Type 2 Diabetics to track and trend their blood glucose levels, receive in-app diabetes education, and tailored coaching messages that help to empower you to make good diet and lifestyle choices. This app also allows you to connect with diabetes educators in real time to ask questions and learn the best ways to control your disease. This app is population health at its best.

Clinical Trial Seek

Cancer patients want the latest in research when choosing a treatment plan. Often this means you need to seek out clinical trials that test new drugs, devices, and methods of care. Clinical Trial Seek puts this critical information at your fingertips in an app available on iOS and Android. You can use the flexible and extensive search tool to find clinical trials in your area by your diagnosis or the phase of the trial.

Canopy Medical Translator

Understanding healthcare information can be difficult when you and the provider speak the same language. Add in language barriers, and it can be downright impossible to help patients understand what’s happening in their care. The Canopy Medical Translator offers a list of translated phrases in 15 languages. You can also access a medical interpreter with the click of one button.

Healthcare is evolving. Long gone are the days where providers know their patients intimately, or patients agree to any care suggested. Today’s patients are smart and savvy, which makes using healthcare apps desirable and sensible.

]]>https://www.headstuff.org/topical/smartphone-healthcare/feed/0A Former Meat Lover’s Guide to a Painless Transition to Vegetarianismhttps://www.headstuff.org/topical/meat-guide-vegetarianism/
https://www.headstuff.org/topical/meat-guide-vegetarianism/#respondMon, 04 Feb 2019 09:10:46 +0000https://www.headstuff.org/?p=73358Have you stumbled yet upon this fantastic article written by our very own Shaun O’Connor detailing the benefits of vegetarianism? If you haven’t, I strongly suggest you give it a read. This article is actually the thing that prompted me to really start researching the environmental and health problems that result from society’s overconsumption of […]

]]>Have you stumbled yet upon this fantastic article written by our very own Shaun O’Connor detailing the benefits of vegetarianism? If you haven’t, I strongly suggest you give it a read. This article is actually the thing that prompted me to really start researching the environmental and health problems that result from society’s overconsumption of meat. I wish I had cared enough to learn sooner, but today, I live a vegetarian lifestyle.

Our addiction to a carnivorous lifestyle has taken quite the toll on our planet, and that’s before we consider the suffering innocent animals endure on factory farms. Still, switching to vegetarian eating does require learning new dining habits and making certain to get enough vital nutrients, particularly protein. Here’s how I successfully made the switch to vegetarian eating, and how you can, too.

Take It One Week (Or Day) at a Time

Those familiar with twelve-step programs know that vowing to swear off anything for a lifetime easily overwhelms even those who normally possess the willpower of a superhero. The word “never” can scare even those with the best reasons to go vegetarian.

Instead of looking at going vegetarian as an all-or-nothing proposition, focus instead on going meat free one day, even one meal, at a time. View each meat-free meal as a choice, not a punishment. You’re making a responsible decision to reduce your carbon footprint and to decrease animal suffering.

Accept that slip-ups and exceptions may occur and treat yourself gently when they do. If you must eat meat, do your research and try to buy organic meats raised on local farms where animals are treated humanely. Even though consuming meat contributes to excessive methane production which damages the ozone level, at least you’ll rest assured that the animal who died for your meal lived a good life first.

Get Enough Non-Meat Protein

The biggest nutritional challenge new vegetarians face is how to consume sufficient protein to fuel their bodies’ needs. Meat offers a complete protein source, meaning it contains all the amino acids necessary for proper bodily function. Vegetarians need to consume a wide variety of plant-based protein to ensure they derive all the amino acids requisite for optimum health.

Many whole grains pack a protein punch, so skip the Wonder bread and the refined pastas. Opt instead for breads made from rye, oat or amaranth and pastas made from whole wheat.

Nuts and seeds also offer high levels of protein coupled with essential fatty acids needed for brain functioning. Nosh on almonds or pumpkin seeds at snack time and top salads with chia or sunflower seeds. If baking, seek out flours that incorporate finely ground nuts into the dough mix to create delectable, high-protein muffins and cookies.

There’s a reason why many ethnic dishes revolve around beans. Beans and legumes such as kidney and black beans contain a ton of protein without all the saturated fat or calories found in beef or pork. Plus, who doesn’t enjoy three-bean salads now and then?

Explore Vegetarian Recipes

Beginning a vegetarian or mostly vegetarian lifestyle goes much more smoothly when the recipes you whip up please your palate. Learning how to craft new vegetarian recipes and adding your own unique twists to them eases the transition to meat-free living.

Many vegetarians use quinoa as a dietary staple as it’s loaded with protein and other nutrients. Proper preparation of a family-sized portion of quinoa takes only about 30 minutes. Once cooked, though, you can add quinoa to soups to create a more stick-to-your-ribs bowl, serve it as a base for a vegetable stir fry or even sprinkle some over salads to up your protein quotient for the day.

Educate yourself as to what foods make excellent vegetarian substitutions for meat. Tofu and tempeh make for terrific meat substitutes. Those restricting gluten can even find vegan meat substitutes made from mushrooms and other gluten-free ingredients.

Remind Yourself of the Health Benefits

Even the best laid plans for converting to vegetarian eating can go awry. When you find your commitment to vegetarian eating wavering, remind yourself of the health benefits your body reaps when you make smart food choices.

Those switching to vegetarian eating often lose weight due to the fact that plant-based proteins contain far less fat than their animal counterparts. If you have a few extra pounds to spare, remind yourself of the benefits restricting meat consumption can have.

Additionally, plant-based diets benefit even elite marathon runners and other athletes. Meat-based proteins take an enormous amount of energy to digest, leaving you feeling tired and sluggish. Plant-based foods provide a much more readily available source of glycogen necessary for energy production.

Renew Your Connection with the Earth

Finally, when What-A-Burger starts singing you a siren song, remind yourself of the ecological benefits of switching to a vegetarian lifestyle. Meat production uses a ton of water and land. Clearing land for cattle continues to decimate the earth’s rainforests. Agricultural runoff often renders nearby water sources unsafe for human consumption.

Factory farms cause livestock animals untold suffering each day. Pigs used as breeder sows get crammed into cages so tiny that they cannot stand up or turn around. Nearly all female livestock endure repeated forced insemination, causing them to procreate far more than nature ever intended.

Consumption of meat even contributes to world hunger. Cattle consume more than 80 percent of the world’s grain production, grains that could otherwise be used to feed starving children and their families.

Here’s to a Plant-Based Lifestyle

Switching to vegetarian eating intimidates many at first, but any and all efforts to minimize our carnivorous consumption ultimately benefit both our health and the health of the planet. Even if you cannot commit to going meat free for life, simply researching where your meat comes from and cutting down on the amount of meat you eat brings substantial benefits. Here’s to a happy, healthy, sustainable and kind lifestyle!

]]>https://www.headstuff.org/topical/meat-guide-vegetarianism/feed/0This is What They All Think | David McWilliams’ Renaissance Nationhttps://www.headstuff.org/topical/david-mcwilliams-renaissance-nation/
https://www.headstuff.org/topical/david-mcwilliams-renaissance-nation/#commentsWed, 30 Jan 2019 07:16:39 +0000https://www.headstuff.org/?p=73236Late one night during the 2008 financial crisis, David McWilliams came up with the idea for the bank guarantee. The following morning, after the Irish Government had made the public liable for €400 Billion of private bank debt, David McWilliams used his column in the Irish Independent to call David McWilliams’ idea “a wise choice”, […]

]]>Late one night during the 2008 financial crisis, David McWilliams came up with the idea for the bank guarantee. The following morning, after the Irish Government had made the public liable for €400 Billion of private bank debt, David McWilliams used his column in the Irish Independent to call David McWilliams’ idea “a wise choice”, and, a “masterstroke”. He did such a good job protecting the interests of the elite, The Irish Times gave him a weekly column where he writes articles with titles like: ‘Sea-salt crisps and our CrossFit Taoiseach; how the demise of Tayto explains the failure of the far-left in Ireland’.

His latest book, Renaissance Nation, was launched by Bono, and reviewed by Leo Varadkar, who wrote that it “provides a strong defence of small businesses and entrepreneurs as the silent heroes of the Irish economic miracle, and reminded me of the reasons why Fine Gael is so determined to stand up for them.” Like all of McWilliams’ work, it is an attempt to protect the neoliberal economic system which has treated him so well.

McWilliams’ main idea is that “Innovation stems from the liberated and creative mind which comes from individual liberation, freeing him or her up to venture artistically, commercially and socially.” The Irish economy, he argues, has allowed people to engage in “economic promiscuity” and “flamboyant commercial self-expression.” The Irish economy is poly and bi and out of the closet. And, since “social liberalism and economic liberalism go hand in hand,” a new, prosperous Ireland has emerged. They play hurling in South Dublin, they vote for repeal in South Tipperary, “Ross O’Carroll-Kelly meets the Hardy Bucks and both have a total laugh.”

You might argue that the generation under 35 are the most socially liberated while also being the generation most impoverished by neoliberalism. You might say that this economic system is restricting your life every day, that the energy and money needed just to survive is stopping you from getting married or having kids or making art or moving jobs or leaving your parents’ house. You might oppose Leo Varadkar as he continues his Thatcherite project to hollow out the state and transfer even more wealth and power into private hands. You would be wrong. Varadkar is a symbol of hope for us all, especially for David McWilliams, who describes him as:

“a gay half-Indian who is the son of an immigrant”

“our fit, photogenic, well-spoken intellectual Taoiseach, who also happens to be a doctor”

“a gay half-Indian polyglot who went to a protestant school, is a qualified doctor and a fierce intellectual, who works out every morning, practises yoga and takes world leaders jogging rather than drinking.”

“a gay, half-Indian physically fit Taoiseach under the age of 40 who is more interested in bench pressing than pint drinking.”

For McWilliams, Varadkar is the leader of something he calls The Radical Centre. “The essence of the Radical Centre”, he writes, “has been the encouragement of business and self-expression.” They are:

“Everyday people who are slow to judge others, who live by their own set of civilised rules, who return lost wallets or mislaid bikes, who pick up their dog’s poo in bags and deposit it in the municipal bin…”

The Radical Centre was never the “extreme Larkin left”, though it did fight in 1916, because, “the vast majority of the rebels in the GPO during Easter week were employed”. That these “revolutionary entrepreneurs” declared a socialist republic makes them no different, according to McWilliams, to the Dalkey Hurlers or Mary Robinson or The Happy Pear Twins or Michael O’Leary or Leo Varadkar or Bono or Lenny Abrahamson or Anne Enright or Conor McGregor.

The Radical Centre, apparently, can accommodate such contradictions, while everyone who opposes it is the same. The “dyed in the wool environmentalists” who protest climate change are joined in the act by “32-county nationalists”. “Old fashioned right-wingers in the Iona Institute” who campaigned against repeal are the same as “left wing anti-water protestors”. “Atheist, bearded trade unionists worry about the destruction of the food chain” and so do “bearded rural Catholic fundamentalists”. “Pro-choice left wingers worry that we are losing our sovereignty, but so too do anti-choice Christians”. Nurses and teachers are the same as billionaires, since, “the average public worker is not just slightly overpaid, but is actually a member of the 1%”. Irish politics is a horseshoe with David McWilliams’ face in the middle of it.

He is so blinded by neoliberal ideology that he can’t even interpret the data in his own book. “Since 2013”, he tells us, “wages have gone up 3% and rent has gone up 42%”. “The top 5% own 46.4% of the wealth in Ireland”, while “the bottom 20% own 0.2%”. “Around 87 cents in every euro of all the wealth of the richest people in the country is held in land, property and houses”. Profits are at record levels, but “only a fraction goes back to the workers in the form of income”. He is so smug and certain that the present economic system is the only option, he won’t even lie to you. He’ll include the bare facts of why your life is so difficult, and he’ll spend the rest of the book telling you that everything is great.

He does, at least, suggest a wealth tax (Leo Varadkar: “I found myself sceptical of some of his prescriptions, for example, his idea of a wealth tax”). His main prescription, though, is more neoliberalism. He wants you to put down your phone and concentrate, because young people “are cannibalising themselves and their economic value by spending too much time online”. To maintain our “economic achievement”, we must “remain a restless nation, moving houses, changing jobs, migrating in and out of the country”. By “we”, of course, he means you, not him. He grew up in Dún Laoighaire and now lives in Dalkey. He went to Blackrock College and then Trinity, where he now lectures. He’s fairly well rested. He’s very happy with the status quo, and if you want to change things, you’re probably a Nazi:

“Despots, extremists and faith based religious leaders, drunk on an irrational hatred of the independent, free-thinking, inventive commercial citizen who pays her taxes, finances public libraries, goes to work and, in some cases, fights in the GPO for a better future, brought the curtain down on Bloom’s world, and in an act of ethnic lunacy, on Bloom’s people, the Jews.”

This is what they all think. Everyone at the top of Irish society, in the government, in the media, in the arts establishment, in the business elite. They all love him. They’re all laughing along with him. All you can do is grow old in your rented accommodation and use some of your stagnating wages to buy the Irish Times and read his articles with titles like:

‘Putting the good room on Airbnb: why we should cut public sector pay and unleash the power of the creative class.’

‘Beat the slapper; how youth discos prepared a generation of Irish people for the flexibility and freedom of the gig economy.’

‘Turning off the immersion; what the wisdom of our parents can teach us about reducing government spending.’

‘The USA-biscuit-tinisation of the Irish workforce; why a change of diet lead to Ireland winning at globalisation’.

‘The Brother Hubbards Bros versus the Herb Street Honeys; who reserves tables for brunch in Dublin and what that tells us about the gender pay gap.’

And when the next crash comes, as it inevitably will, David McWilliams will be there to tell you where it all went wrong, and how much public money we should use to rescue the rigged economic system which keeps crashing and keeps enriching David McWilliams.

]]>https://www.headstuff.org/topical/david-mcwilliams-renaissance-nation/feed/1The Future of Beauty | Five Ways Tech Will Play A Rolehttps://www.headstuff.org/topical/science/the-future-of-beauty-five-ways-tech-will-play-a-role/
https://www.headstuff.org/topical/science/the-future-of-beauty-five-ways-tech-will-play-a-role/#commentsMon, 28 Jan 2019 12:38:31 +0000https://www.headstuff.org/?p=73149Technology isn’t limited to the bigger things in life. Sure, putting people on Mars and self-driving vehicles sounds pretty great, but technology helping in day-to-day life is what we are really hungry to see. Smart homes and resulting gadgets are just the starts in making life more convenient every single day. One of the groundbreaking […]

]]>Technology isn’t limited to the bigger things in life. Sure, putting people on Mars and self-driving vehicles sounds pretty great, but technology helping in day-to-day life is what we are really hungry to see. Smart homes and resulting gadgets are just the starts in making life more convenient every single day. One of the groundbreaking leaps we didn’t even know we needed is the future of beauty products.

Considering cosmetics a technology might be a different thought for some, but that’s what it boils down to in the modern world. With a stronger technological aid to help people along in their everyday routines, we’re capable of expanding cosmetics even further than what we ever thought we could achieve. In the beginning, though, the change starts small by giving the power to the consumer. Here are five examples.

1. DIY Trends

Do-it-yourself (DIY) has become a popular concept in a technologically advanced world where money is scarce for many people. Not everyone can afford regular trips to the nail salon or spa, but everyone does want to look their best. These days, there are more ways for a person to create their very own skin care creams and cosmetics, as well as 3D printed customs, like nails.

In addition to saving money in the long run, DIY saves people valuable time they could spend elsewhere, like with work or family, and helps consumers choose their own ingredients. Whether they’re allergic to a common ingredient or simply want to become more environmentally conscious, allowing consumers to personalise their products is becoming a serious trend in cosmetics.

2. ModiFace Skin AI

With augmented reality (AR) working with artificial intelligence (AI), we can find entirely new things about ourselves we didn’t consider possible. When considering L’Oreal’s ModiFace Skin AI, we’re talking more about health than mere beauty. ModiFace gives users a chance to get to know their skin along with dermatologists’ consultation. The app can pick up dark spots, discolouration, dryness, uneven skin and even rosacea.

A significant and growing trend with these sort of apps is allowing the user to see changes for before and after they use a beauty product. It can even recommend other products to use to get the results the user wants. Apps like this are going to start becoming a serious trend very soon.

3. Optune

Similar to that of ModiFace, Shiseido’s Optune goes a step further by utilising the Internet of Things (IoT). Using data from the IoT, Optune can personalise its interface with the skin type of the user all the way down to the conditions of the surrounding environment. Using a special algorithm, this app can find the best conditions for your particular skin for the best tone and moisturised state.

The first part of Optune is called Optune Zero, which is what monitors the changes of your skin. It’s able to take information like temperature, humidity, mood and even menstrual cycle into account to tell the user the best thing they can do for their skin. The second part is called Optune Shot, which is how Optune sends you their recommended product for the day. The user has a special machine that fills a cartridge with the specific serum cream for their skin condition.

4. Get the Look

Rimmel’s Get The Look app is, by contrast, much simpler than ModiFace or Optune but simple is all a person really needs. The app is simply a 3D AR experience to try on makeup after taking a photo of themselves. They can even take a photo of other makeup to try those products on.

This sort of mirror or dressing room AR technology is becoming extremely popular with companies that specialise in beauty. Other brands like bareMinerals, Estée Lauder and Sephora are already on the train for virtual try-on apps. The benefit for the companies is not just getting people to easily try out their products, but also to collect more data on an individual so they can advertise much more effectively. All of the recommendations with this technology will be specially targeted ads to save time for both the company and the consumer.

5. Tech Help in Physical Stores

One of the many conveniences technology gives us is that we never really have to leave our homes again. This has become a double-edged sword for companies, but they’ve found a fantastic solution. Using the same technology, they’re able to give their in-store employees access to incredible amounts of information, so they can be far more reliable than any app. With the right tools and proper training, the employees can make the trip to the store worth the consumer’s time.

With everything the company can provide, the rest of the store’s success lands on the employees and things that technology can’t provide. A great cosmetologist is the only reason a consumer will really bother to come into the store when their experience online could be quicker and easier. To be great at the job, employees have to be able to listen to what the consumer wants while providing creative feedback to prove their skills. They also need to be able to tell their clients the truth about what looks good, and what doesn’t, so the client knows they can rely on their word.

Technology and Beauty

The advancement of tech is going in all directions. We all want to look and feel good, so the improvement of beauty products shouldn’t be a surprise. Whether we’re going the route of AR try-on apps or simply making better ways to have healthy skin, technology is going to keep pushing us forward to have better products than yesterday.

]]>https://www.headstuff.org/topical/science/the-future-of-beauty-five-ways-tech-will-play-a-role/feed/1Out Here | 1 | Between the Postcardshttps://www.headstuff.org/topical/outhere-1-wolfe-tone-bridge/
https://www.headstuff.org/topical/outhere-1-wolfe-tone-bridge/#respondMon, 28 Jan 2019 07:45:34 +0000https://www.headstuff.org/?p=73125When the tide comes in the river runs deep and fast. Rushing beneath Galway’s Wolfe Tone Bridge and out past Spanish Arch to become the Atlantic. The ribbons are tied to the railings that face upriver, against the flow. Dashes of colour that grow frayed in the rain and tattered in the wind. Some have […]

]]>When the tide comes in the river runs deep and fast. Rushing beneath Galway’s Wolfe Tone Bridge and out past Spanish Arch to become the Atlantic. The ribbons are tied to the railings that face upriver, against the flow. Dashes of colour that grow frayed in the rain and tattered in the wind. Some have dedications written down their length – names, dates, a last goodbye. And others speak without any words. The wind whistles through them and that says enough.

In memory of their beloved who took their own lives here, those left behind tied the ribbons to the bridge’s rails. Where the homeless sit staring up at the busy pedestrians staring down at their iPhones. Who move past. Headed for the Claddagh on the west bank or Quay Street on the east. Crossing the bridge between Galway’s two postcard-perfect quarters. The snapshots of Ireland the tourists take home with them.

But no one lives in a postcard. And between the picturesque scenes is a place’s reality: The little struggles and wars and people. The stuff of folk-legends.

And on Wolfe Tone Bridge the hard truth at the core of those legends is revealed. It is a truth that needs to be confronted, not hushed up. As was done until 1993 – only 26 years ago – when suicide was decriminalised. Though even that could not erase the stigmatisation that still haunts us. The belief that mental illness is a shame, something to hide.

On 7 October, 2017, St. Patrick’s Mental Health Services published a survey on their website. They found that 64% of Irish people “believe that being treated for a mental health difficulty is seen as a sign of personal failure.” It is an old, dated notion – that mental illness is a stain on our reputations. Yet it still runs through our psyche. Like a stretched-thin nerve.

Ireland lives by the gospel of what the neighbours think. The unwritten word that enshrines this country’s values and ways. Today a winter sun shines on Wolfe Tone Bridge. It moves across the sky, descending to the horizon from its noonday apex. Before it comes to rest on the distant lip of the Atlantic and the pubs start to fill up. People spill out of the doorways, their cigarette smoke and chat drifting to the sky. And somewhere among them there are people too afraid of the others’ whispers to speak out. Now they are almost invisible. Indistinguishable from the smiles and laughter that pack the barrooms. They are part of the postcard.

The ribbons on the bridge however are not. For they speak a truth that we do not want to admit. Even though it has been confirmed by undeniable numbers. According to the Central Statistics Office there was more than a suicide a day in 2017 – a total of 392. Juxtapose that figure against another from the St. Patrick’s survey – that 73% of Irish people “believe society views those who receive in-patient care for mental health difficulties differently” – and our own frightening image emerges from the numbers. To fix us with a gaze we cannot meet.
So we turn away. Too afraid to look our reflection in the eye. In case we find something in it that the village, and ourselves, do not like. Because we would rather see the postcards than the mirror. For the postcards are prettier. And they cradle our reputation in their frozen moments.

Comic-prophet Lenny Bruce said “the truth is what is.” Everything else is “What should be a terrible lie someone told the people long ago.” By ignoring the facts and figures and ribbons, Ireland moves forward with its head buried in that “what should be.” Mental illness and suicide are old, universal problems. They have been there throughout our history. And they will follow us into the future. No matter how deep we bury our heads, we cannot outrun what lurks in their corners.